MORNING BRIEFING

Even for a Texan, This Is a Big Lie

Deion Sanders has been bothered by articles written by Randy Galloway in the Dallas Morning News.

He told Galloway, "Every time you write about me, you have to put dollar signs by my name. Why don't you put what you make by your picture when you write a story?"

"That would be all right with me," Galloway replied jokingly. "I make $14 million a year."

Trivia time: Which team holds the NBA single-season record for winning percentage in road games?

Success story: Gene Collier in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Bo Jackson got his degree from Auburn recently, and you know what that means. Right, no more low-paying, dead-end jobs for him."

Thanks, pal: Jim Donnan, who became Georgia's football coach after Glen Mason changed his mind about taking the job and decided to stay at Kansas: "I knew Glen Mason was a good friend of mine, but I didn't know he was this good a friend."

Perspective: Buddy Ryan, who was fired recently as coach of the Arizona Cardinals, used to have a sign on his desk that read: "If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes."

Unreliable: The New York Times, which relies on a computer to rank teams, had the Detroit Lions as the NFL's No. 1 team before last Saturday's playoff games.

The Lions were then routed by Philadelphia, 58-37.

No way to fly: Billboard at the entrance to Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport: "America West, official airline of the Phoenix Suns, will fly opposing teams to their next game. And their baggage somewhere else."

Verbal assault: From the Good Doctor in Inside Sports:

Q: "Doc, can you quote Joe Montana's most controversial comment on TV this season?"

A: "Steve Young usually gives around 109% out there."

FYI: USC came close to tying a negative Rose Bowl record on Monday. The Trojans were penalized 11 times. The record is 12 shared by USC and Wisconsin, 1963 and 1994.

Looking back: On this day in 1993, the Buffalo Bills trailed the Houston Oilers, 35-3, in the third quarter of their AFC first-round playoff game in Buffalo. However, the Bills rallied to win, 41-38, in overtime.

Trivia answer: The 1971-72 Lakers, .816, 31-7.

Quotebook: Dennis Rodman on his former girlfriend, Madonna: "She had ways of making you feel like you're King Tut."